The only real question about the uncontested election contest for New Hyde Park Village Board incumbents Robert Lofaro and Richard Coppola is how many voters will show up at Marcus Christ Hall to cast ballots.
At the last public village board meeting, New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio encouraged residents to show up just to stay in the habit of exercising their democratic prerogative, notwithstanding the absence of any opponents in the race.
But in an era when half of eligible American voters elect to stay home when the White House is up for grabs, Petruccio’s exhortation sounded hopeful at best.
Lofaro and Coppola have served on the board for the past 12 years, and Lofaro has been deputy mayor for the past decade. Prior to being elected, Lofaro was the chairperson of a five-member Citizen’s Budget Advisory board that made recommendations to the village board on reducing expenses and taxes of a village that was on the verge of slipping into dissolution.
“I’m just continuing on the job. That’s really the way to look at it,” Lofaro said.
The board’s finance maven, who has also managed the funding of steadily refurbishing the village roads, he serves as the board liaison to the village Department of Public Works.
Lofaro’s full-time job is a director in trade and risk services for a major international financial institution.
Both men are long-standing members of the New Hyde Park Fire Department.
Coppola, president of All Vehicle Leasing, Inc. at Hempstead Ford Lincoln Mercury, is focused on maintaining and improving the village’s public parks. His latest effort has been overseeing the addition of basketball and volleyball courts in New Hyde Park Memorial Park, a project that is expected to be completed this spring.
“I enjoy being part of the community. I enjoy doing things in the community,” Coppola said when asked about his motivation to seek another term as a village trustee.
Coppola said he’s proud of what the veteran village board has accomplished over the past decade.
“I think we’ve make the village a better place to live, both for the residents and the business community,” Coppola said.
However many voters show up at the polls on Tuesday between noon and 9 p.m., Lofaro and Coppola can be counted on to attend the next village board meeting on Wednesday.
